Tag Archives: Vermont

Home Repairs

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My RV is my house. When things go wrong with any part of it I need to get it fixed just like any “Sticks & Bricks” homeowner does. The frustrating part is trying to find someone to fix it.

On this trip, my macerator hose developed a pinpoint hole leak. What is a macerator hose? It is what drains my black and gray water tanks. It is my sewage line to the outside world. Thanks to a good friend, Campskunk, I repaired it, knowing that I would need to replace the hose at some point. The repair was a temporary fix.

I plan to visit with family in Columbus, Ohio so I thought I would get it fixed there. I called three different service centers and asked if they could replace the hose. All three gave me roundabout answers that meant no. No, we don’t deal with macerator hoses. No, we don’t work on Roadtreks or vans. A Macerator hose, what is that? No, I don’t know any service centers in the Columbus area that will work on this problem. Frustration!!!

My friend Cori texted me to remind me of Beaver Motors RV in Beaver Springs, Pennsylvania. They work on Roadtreks. I reached Nick, at Beaver Motors RV and asked him if they could replace the macerator hose he said, “Yes”. When I asked him if he could look at my one window that has an annoying water leak he said, “Yes”. When I asked him if he could check one more thing his answer was “Yes”.

By now, you probably know who I am going to go to for some home repairs. He even offered to let me camp in their lot. On Friday I will be waiting at eight in the morning to get my rig in.

Tomorrow my New Jersey sister, Ginny will be meeting me for the weekend in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, one of the towns on the Susquehanna River. While my rig gets worked on we will hotel it, visit, and explore the surrounding area. It will be my last visit with her for some time. We are making the most of being closer in proximity. I am looking forward to one more visit.

I crossed over the Canadian/US border on Monday, September twenty-fifth. It was hard to say goodbye to the north country. It was a grand journey into Canada this summer and fall.

Visiting with good friends in Vermont for a few days made it easier to acclimate back into my own country. I visited Diane and Tom going north, what seems like ages ago, but was really just this past July. I got to do a repeat performance. On a lovely Tuesday, the three of us kayaked on one of the local reservoirs. It was a perfect morning and afternoon.

Diane
Tom

Fall has arrived on the northeast coast. It is Indan Summer with cool nights and warm days. It is kind of a last hurrah before winter arrives. The leaves are changing colors. No one is sure if it is going to be a good fall, with brilliant leaf colors or just a so-so one. There are all these theories that the locals use to predict whether it will be a good “Leaf Peeping” fall or not. The trees know but they let people do their local predictions before they decide to show their color. The verdict is still out for this fall. Foliage usually peaks around the second week in October.

Friday presents me with another kind of adventure. Home repairs. I am so glad to be driving towards someone who will take care of EmmyLou for me. It feels good to be putting her into good hands.

Today and I am sure over the next few days I will continue to be thankful for Beaver Motors RV service department.

How I am Spending My Summer

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Traveling is fun, traveling is hard, traveling is everything. The good, The bad, and everything in between.

I have been “on the road” since the second week in July. Shortly after my sister’s birthday I packed up EmmyLou, left New Jersey, and began to travel to my next destination. After a visit with a long-time friend, Diane in Vermont I started moving north through Maine. Destination Nova Scotia.

I love traveling through the backroads and discovering the unusual, unique, and different. I never know what is going to show up and catch my interest. Lubec, Maine is a small town that boasts it is the furthermost east town in the United States. It sits on the water at the end of the road. There were unique sculptures, lobster rolls, and picturesque buildings.

I have been to Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, Canada. They are the famous Sea Stacks in the Bay of Fundy. The best time to go is at low tide because one can walk on the ocean floor for miles as long as you don’t mind the gooey mud.

Hudson River
Saugerties Lighthouse
Paddling Silver Lake, VT
Seascape ME
Lubec
Sea Stacks at the Bay of Fundy

Last evening I reached Halifax. I was planning to go out and explore today but here I am instead writing this. Why? I needed a day off. I like traveling. I love exploring. Some days I just need a day off. So today is my day off. The laundry is done. I have had a shower and the rig is getting cleaned up. And I am taking some time to rest and read. It also gives Halifax another day to clean up from the torrential rains that poured into this community over the weekend.

Is this age-related? Maybe. Is this road weariness? Maybe. I have to remind myself that if I had a “Sticks & Bricks” house I would have days like this, days where I would relax in the house or yard. Days where I would catch up on chores. I have a site right on a river about a half hour outside of Halifax. It is quiet and shaded. The young mallards come to visit. Last night I was able to launch my kayak and see a couple beavers on the river. Nice. I am enjoying a summer day off.

I will be in Nova Scotia until early August. This coming weekend is a Roadtrek Rally or gathering. We will talk shop. Others will catch up on their lives and I hope to make a few new friends who I can meet “on the road”.

Immature Atlantic Puff

My logistical plan for the summer in Canada is changing. I love photography. I love learning about my craft. I have the opportunity to go to a three-night/four-day photography workshop on the north shore of the St Lawrence Seaway. Instead of traveling to New Foundland, I am going to continue to travel through New Brunswick and Labrador, traveling by ferry to the north shore of the Seaway, and will move east along the river to the Mingan Archipelago. I am spending three nights on one of the islands and taking photos of Puffins, Razorbacks, and whoever else shows up with Christopher Dodd, photographer and seven other photographers. Puffins!!!

I am looking forward to learning more about my camera and lenses. With knowledge comes creativity and a distinctive view of how I see and take photos.

Am I going to New Foundland? Yes, just a few weeks later. I am told it is good to travel there until the end of September. The plan can change again. I like the freedom to choose change. It is important to be flexible and grab the opportunity when it arrives whispering or screaming at my doorstep.

Please join me on my summer journey. And if you are anywhere close come on by and have a seat. Take a day off. Enjoy life.

Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them. If you click on the bold and different color print, it will take you to websites so you can learn more about my destinations or the professionals that I am involved with.

Camping the Big Sur Coast & Friendship.

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along the Big Sur Coast

along the Big Sur Coast

Sometimes I get caught up in my day to day events and feel they are so important and I don’t take the time to be thankful or grateful for this moment in time. Then I find out a friend of mine is fighting for her life and it throws everything back into perspective again. I thought I would take some time out of my morning chores and business and be thankful for this day, my health and remember those who struggle. I decided to write on the blog. After all, it is called “Journeys of Thankfulness”.  Although my trip last summer is over, my journey into gratefulness is not.

Janet & Diane at Point Loma

Janet & Diane at Point Loma

Two weeks ago my friend Diane, from Vermont (remember her helping me to drive across the covered bridges of VT and NH?), decided to escape the cold and the snow and head west to visit me in sunny southern CA. Funny how friends show up at the right times in my life. I have been mostly content with life now, although still missing Jim so much at times. I have been stressed a bit about life and then Diane shows up. People seem to arrived just when I need the company and a boost. I love friends. It is so good to have them in my life.

Beach Kind of Morning

Beach Kind of Morning

Right after Presidents Day we decided to pack up the RV and drive north to the Big Sur Coast of CA. I have done a lot of traveling alone and I really enjoy it yet it is so much fun to have a good travel companion. Diane and I have had our adventures over the years, backpacking the Rockies is one, and now we continue to find more to do together. The weather was perfect, the scenery grand and the company magnificent. And through all of the activity it also was relaxing. I think I might have sold Diane on RV camping as well.

I had to throw in a photo of a Sea Otter, They are so cute.

I had to throw in a photo of a Sea Otter, They are so cute.

One of the best things about long time friends, no matter how far apart we are, we pick up right where we left off the last time we talked or saw each other. And so we did. It was a marvelous 5 day trip of remembered times and creating some new moments along the way. We hiked into the hills, slept among the redwoods, and wandered the beaches and it was so much fun. I don’ think I have laughed so much since before Jim died. I guess I had forgotten how serious I have become sometimes. I need to stop this, really. It is good to have friends who can help you remember to lighten up (and the elephant seals mating on the beach helped too).

I want to thank Diane for coming to visit. It is good to get out of my normal routine and remember how special the world is. I am an adventurer and I love to explore the natural world, books, knowledge, my internal growth and the wisdom of others. It is good to take time to remember and value what I have. I am glad I stopped this morning to remember all of person-kind and value what I have in this day. Today I am thankful.

Today I will call a friend and let them know I remember them and thank them for loving me. Here is to good friends.

Diane & Janet Toasting Friendship & a Perfect Holiday on the Big Sur Coast.

Diane & Janet Toasting Friendship & a Perfect Holiday on the Big Sur Coast.

 

If you would like to see all the photos from this trip here is the link.

Journeys of Thankfulness

Slowly Starting West.

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Driving through covered bridges

Driving through covered bridges, NH

I am slowly starting to head west. Slowly is the key word. On Saturday I departed Maine. After a fun drive through New Hampshire I am now in Quechee, Vermont. After I left Moxie pond and my friends in northern Maine, Missy & Dan, I drove to southern Maine to Sebago Lake, the supplier of most of the water supply for the greater Portland area.

Memorial of the ordination of Rev. Samuel Hildden, 1792

Memorial of the ordination of Rev. Samuel Hildden, 1792

As I traveled through NH my GPS seemed to have a mind of it’s own. I stopped in Tamworth to explore a farmers market. After I left there I found that crazy GPS took me into the back country, over dirt roads, through covered bridges and found some beautiful farms. I found a small cemetery with a unique memorial. It was not a quick drive but such a pleasant surprise. I guess am kind of liking my crazy GPS.

Janet & Mary

Janet & Mary

I spent two days with Mary In Sebago, ME.I met Mary in 1971. We went to the same nursing school in NH. Mary was in the class behind me. I met her about 1/2 way through my second year of school. I felt alone during my nurses training but when I met Mary that changed. After I met her we became friends and had many adventures together. After we both graduated we visited a few times. then I moved west and Mary went her way. It was almost 30 years before we met again. That meeting was two years ago. Even though we had not seen each other for such a long time there was an immediate connection and we picked up our friendship where it had left off all those years ago.

I am so glad we reconnected. Over the past few years Mary has been there for me. We might live on opposite coasts yet distance has not stopped me from feeling her love and support.

Sebago Lake

Sebago Lake

I am continuing to love the fact that I can swim in the lakes on the east coast. Soon after I arrived we were in the water. What a delight, we talked and swam and caught up. I had my first opportunity on this trip to kayak On the lake. The best part of being with Mary is that she loves to cook. One of the touching moments with Mary was the evening we had Maine lobster for dinner. Earlier in the day we had been talking about seafood and I had mentioned that I love scallops almost as much as lobster and for dinner that night scallops arrived on my plate along with the lobster.

Moments of caring may show up at any moment in our lives. Often we don’t see them as we get busy with our lives. I have found that since Jim was diagnosed with metastasis of his original cancer I have been paying more and more attention to these small and often touching moments in my life. I appreciate these moments and I feel so much in my heart for everyone who has prayed and thought of both of us. I continue to feel so much in my heart for all those who continue to support me and encourage me through this struggling change in my life.

After my days here in Vt I am going through New York State to weave my way around the Great Lakes. I am looking forward to a few days of camping. It is a time to regroup and enjoy my RV.

Jim & Janet Grand Canyon

Jim & Janet Grand Canyon